FPGAs in SDR -- Why, when, and how to use them (with RFNoC)

Taming digital hardware for software radio

Most SDR hardware nowadays includes an FPGA of sorts, but how to make use of them in an SDR application is often unclear for newcomers to the SDR ecosystem. Even more daunting can be to take first steps into FPGA-land and start writing code for your reprogrammable chips. We will talk about how an FPGA is actually useful for SDRs on an very basic level, and provide a very basic introduction into how to use the RFNoC framework to start using (and maybe learning) FPGAs.

The following topics will be covered:
- How are FPGAs already available in modern SDR hardware?
- Which tasks are FPGAs well suited to tackle?
- When do we move tasks to an FPGA, and when do we not?
- How can we enter the realm of FPGA development using the RFNoC framework?